CARNEY AND MARKELL DISCUSS A DEAL

By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

Lt. Gov. John C. Carney Jr. and Treasurer Jack A.
Markell, rivals for the 2008 Democratic nomination for
governor, have discussed a deal that would have Carney
running for governor and Markell for lieutenant
governor, Delaware Grapevine has learned.

It is an arrangement that would spare the Democratic
Party a bruising and costly primary and likely shape
Delaware politics for decades to come -- by making
Carney the favorite to win the governorship in this
increasingly Democratic state with another Democrat in
position to follow.

The agreement is not finalized and could fall apart
because of other interlocking parts. Markell is said to
be unwilling to back out of one primary for governor
only to land in another for lieutenant governor, an
office that already is the target of an anticipated
Democratic contest between Insurance Commissioner
Matthew P. Denn and Wilmington Council President
Theodore Blunt.

Denn apparently is willing to move aside for Markell
and run for re-election as insurance commissioner in
2008, but Blunt is not. Instead, Blunt says he is
sticking with his plans to declare his candidacy
Saturday with a traditional statewide tour, insisting,
"I'm announcing."

John D. Daniello, the Democratic state chair,
acknowledged Wednesday there have been negotiations to
avoid a Carney-Markell race, although he declined to
confirm specifics.

"Obviously the candidates and the party and the
incumbent elected officers have all been working for a
unified ticket, and we'll continue to do that," Daniello
said.

Democratic officials strongly want to avoid a
gubernatorial primary between two popular candidates,
both with loyal followings, out of alarm that the
rivalry could divide the party for a generation -- state
Democrats are known for holding grudges that long -- and
give the Republicans a crack at winning the governorship
for the first time since 1988.

The Republicans have not settled on a candidate yet,
although the party leadership is urging Alan B. Levin of
Happy Harry's fame to consider it.

The efforts to prevent a political collision between
Carney and Markell appear to have begun about two months
ago and intensified within the last week. Much of the
brokering is credited to U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper.

"No one should be surprised that party leaders, be
they Democrat or Republican, would try to avoid
potentially divisive primaries. That's especially true
with candidates as talented as the ones involved here.
We face an embarrassment of riches in the Democratic
Party and a deep bench," Carper said.

"What did Yogi Berra say? It ain't over 'til it's
over. We haven't succeeded yet, but we haven't even
gotten to the seventh inning stretch yet. In fact, the
'Star Spangled Banner' has just been sung and the umpire
said, 'Play ball.'"

In a political footnote, Carper's public career got
its biggest break with some ticket tinkering 25 years
ago, when the Democrats were looking for a candidate in
1982 against Thomas B. Evans, the Republican congressman
caught in a sex scandal.

U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. talked Carper, then the
state treasurer, into running. The party pressured
Bayard Marin, a Wilmington lawyer who already had
announced against Evans, into withdrawing, and a New
Castle County Democratic councilman was recruited to run
for treasurer.

Some of the negotiations involving Carney and Markell
came over the weekend at Carper's house in Wilmington.
This followed a meeting between Carney and Markell last
Wednesday in Carney's office in Dover.

Carney, who will be 51 on Sunday, is a twice-elected
lieutenant governor whose term is up in 2008. Markell,
46, is in the middle of his third term as treasurer and
would not have to give up the position to become a
candidate.

Carney, Markell and Denn all acknowledged there have
been discussions but nothing nailed down.

Carney said, "As I go around, running for governor
and talking to people, if I had a dollar for everyone,
Democrats in particular, asking me about avoiding this
primary, I'd be able to finance my campaign. Having the
two of us working together in partnership would
certainly be better than the two of us running against
each other. There's not been an agreement."

Markell said, "Sen. Carper has been very interested
in talking to a number of talented people in the
Democratic party to see how we can all play a role.
Plenty of people have talked about what I should do.
I've been taking a very serious look at the governor's
office. I have no intention of running for lieutenant
governor. There have been plenty of conversations but no
agreement."

Denn said, "Sen. Carper has talked to me about
changing some of my plans in the short term in a way
that would help us avoid a primary between two friends
of mine. I told him I would be willing to consider that,
but as of now, there is no decision to be made."

The deal making has extended through almost all of
the Democratic statewide officeholders, because another
piece of it is believed to be a commitment from Carney
to offer Markell the U.S. Senate appointment, if Biden
leaves his seat as part of the next presidential
administration.

Joe Biden and Attorney General Joseph R. "Beau" Biden
III, widely assumed to be groomed as his father's
eventual replacement, are said to be informed about the
give-and-take but not involved.

This should not be a surprise. The last time Beau
Biden was supposed to be part of a deal -- when
Republican Attorney General M. Jane Brady bolted for the
bench -- he walked away from an appointment by the
governor and ran for the office.